Bring Your Own Device-Challenges and Solutions for the Mobile Workplace

摘要

Technological advances in the workplace often introduce new levels of convenience-and a whole new world of legal concerns. This is true for the growing phenomenon known as 'bring your own device.' 'Bring your own device,' or BYOD, refers to the corporate trend in which employers allow, and sometimes encourage, employees to use their personal electronic devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.) to engage in work tasks. According to a recent survey, 38 percent of companies expect to stop providing electronic devices to their employees by 2016. This means that in the coming years, as employees' personal electronic devices become their work devices, many employers will face the challenge of creating BYOD policies that address complex issues such as data privacy, ownership of information, employee use of social media, and tracking of employee work hours. This Questions-And Answers column reviews some of the legal and policy issues surrounding the BYOD movement and suggests ways for employers to draft effective, forward-looking BYOD policies.